12/9/2016 10:40 AM PST BY TMZ STAFF

EXCLUSIVE

Louis Mayorga co-wrote and played bass on a classic punk tune while he was in the band Suicidal Tendencies ... and he's pissed the checks have stopped coming in for it.

Mayorga is suing Lisa Fancher -- founder of Frontier Records -- for not regularly paying him his royalties for ST's self-titled album featuring the hit song, "Institutionalized" ... according to the docs.

Mayorga says he has to hound Fancher for his cash until she finally sends him a check for an "arbitrary amount." He says these checks never come with an earnings statement, so he has no way to check if he's getting a legit cut.

According to the suit, Fancher sent him an email in June telling him sales are bad and he's not a top priority. Mayorga says he hasn't gotten a dime from her since.

12/9/2016 7:01 AM PST BY TMZ STAFF

EXCLUSIVE

Ne-Yo is the first black artist to say he's willing to perform at Donald Trump's inauguration, because as he puts it ... business is business and a party is a party.

We got the singer Thursday at LAX, and he told us without hesitation he'd be there in a heartbeat if Trump asked him. His reason seems practical, and he says he'd even bring a surprise for the new Prez.

12/8/2016 6:34 PM PST BY TMZ STAFF

Kanye West is back in the public eye -- surfacing exactly where you'd expect him to Thursday in Los Angeles.

The 'Life of Pablo' rapper was spotted at an art installation at the Pacific Design Center ... and he was sporting blonde hair -- a different look from what he had before his hospitalization for a mental breakdown.

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12/8/2016 3:42 PM PST BY TMZ STAFF

Shia LaBeouf knows Soulja Boy doesn't mean it when he says don't come to Atlanta, 'cause Soulja's a sweet kid at heart -- or at least that's what he's assuming.

Paps got the actor-turned-MC out Thursday in Studio City, where they asked what he had to say to Soulja ... who issued an ultimatum in rap's biggest -- meaning, silliest -- beef since Drake vs. Meek Mill.

12/8/2016 4:19 PM PST BY TMZ STAFF

Songwriters for Justin Bieber, Drake, Shakira and a bunch of other celebs are getting robbed blind by an "illegal cartel" of radio stations ... according to the company trying to shut 'em down.

Global Music Rights is suing virtually the entire radio industry for colluding to drive down the payments to all songwriters ... including those repped by GMR, such as Drizzy and Biebs.

According to the docs ... the Radio Music License Committee negotiates rights for 10,216 radio stations as a whole. GMR says because the RMLC negotiates rights in bulk ... individual artists (who write their own songs) are getting screwed.

Translation: if stations compete against each other to buy rights to the best songs ... the artists will make more dough. #FreeMarket

Daniel Petrocelli, the attorney for GMR, says the "cartel" stays together successfully because it keeps compensation to songwriters low.

The RMLC says it "will not roll over in the face of the baseless, bullying lawsuit."

12/8/2016 12:50 AM PST BY TMZ STAFF

EXCLUSIVE

Kanye West's bounce back from the mental breakdown could come sooner than expected -- the recovery process has his creativity flowing again, and a new album could be in the offing.

Sources close to Kanye tell TMZ ... since he got home, he's been more relaxed and focused. We're told Kanye's built a temporary studio in their Bel-Air mansion so he can have the privacy he needs to get healthy, while also making new music as ideas come to him.

Our sources say Kanye's comparing the breakdown, and 8 day hospital stay, to his near-fatal car crash and his mother's death. We're told he feels he created some of his best work -- "Through The Wire" and '808s' -- after those crises.

As we reported, Kanye started melting down when he stopped taking prescribed doses of his usual meds for psychological issues. We're told he's kept that under control since leaving the hospital, and he's in such a creative space ... an album's worth of material is a real possibility.

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12/8/2016 8:06 AM PST BY TMZ STAFF

Niall Horanlooked like he knew he had just let a giant cat out of the bag leaving one of L.A.'s most expensive baby stores with a basket of pink stuff.

Niall's old 1D bandmate, Liam Payne, and his partner, Cheryl Cole, are reportedly expecting in early 2017, but haven't revealed the sex of their baby. Naturally 1D fans jumped to the conclusion the girly stuff Niall's toting is for the couple.

Of course, it's possible the basket is for someone else ... after all, it is the holidays and Liam and Cheryl are hunkered down in London.

12/8/2016 8:02 AM PST BY TMZ STAFF

Breaking News

Greg Lake, who co-founded the popular progressive rock band Emerson, Lake and Palmer ... died Wednesday.

Greg's agent said he died after "a long and stubborn battle with cancer." Greg is the second member from the '70s band to die in 2016 -- founding member and keyboardist Keith Emerson died back in March.

ELP burst onto the scene in 1970 at the Isle of Wight Festival ... where Jimi Hendrix and The Who also famously headlined. The band broke up off and on and reunited for a tour as recently as 2010.

Greg also had a successful solo career that included the 1975 classic, "I Believe in Father Christmas."